Hummingbird Poetry Series
Mornings at Blackwater Pond
by Mary Oliver
For years, every morning, I drank
from Blackwater Pond.
It was flavored with oak leaves and also, no doubt,
the feet of ducks.
And always it assuaged me
from the dry bowl of the very far past.
What I want to say is
that the past is the past,
and the present is what your life is,
and you are capable
of choosing what that will be,
darling citizen.
So come to the pond,
or the river of your imagination,
or the harbor of your longing,
and put your lips to the world.
And live
your life.
Curator’s Note. Mary Oliver delivers a direct and salient message full of hope.
“Live your life.” Starting now, it is your choice and within your power to live the life you desire. The past is behind you, and the beautiful life you choose is the potential of what lies ahead. “Put your lips to the world.”
